Speakers

Hon. Stephen Dawson, MLC, Minister for Environment, Disability Services, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Legislative CouncilStephen was born in Dublin and first came to Australia in 1986 on a family holiday. In 1989 he and his family migrated to Australia to escape the struggling economy in Ireland.
Stephen studies to be a French and Drama teacher at Edith Cowan University and in 1995 joined the Labor party at the University orientation day.
Stephen was elected to represent the Mining & Pastoral Region at the 2013 state election. He served as Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for the Kimberley, Pilbara, Gascoyne and Goldfields-Esperance regions before being promoted to the position of Shadow Minister for Health; Disability Service and Child Protection in September 2013.
Stephen has been a Chief of Staff to a number o Government Ministers in Western Australia and Victoria and immediately prior to his election to Parliament he worked as the WA State Manager for Essential Media Communications.

Theresa Pierno, President & CEO, National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), AmericaTheresa joined NPCA in 2004 after a distinguished career in public service and natural resource protection, and has helped to solidify the organisation's role as the voice of America's national parks. One of Theresa's priorities for the organisation is connecting more diverse and younger people to America's national parks. In addition, under Theresa's leadership, the organisation's strategic focus is ensuring national parks continue to be protected and have the resources and infrastructure they require to thrive in their second century.
Prior to becoming President and CEO, Theresa served as NPCA's Chief Operating Officer and played a critical role in the recruitment of talented, diverse and experienced staff, led the development of strategic priorities with a focus on water and land use policy, and helped to ensure the financial health of NPCA through revised management practices and successful fundraising efforts. To engage and inspire new park stewards and advocates, she formed NPCA's Next Generation Advisory Council - a group of young rangers, civil servants, public land advocates, educators, students and activists with a strong desire to lead national park advocacy efforts well into the future. Theresa has significantly increased field programs and staff in the 24 offices across the country and further enhanced NPCA's connection to national parks and their gateway communities.
Theresa is the Co-Founder and Co-chair of America's Great Waters Coalition, a group of 70 member organisations working together to protect and restore waters in and around national parks that are centre to the health of the ecosystem and the recreation of their visitors.

June Oscar AO, Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner
June Oscar AO is a proud Bunuba woman from the remote town of Fitzroy Crossing in Western Australia's Kimberbley region. She is a strong advocate for Indigenous Australian languages, social justice, women's issues and has worked tirelessly to reduce Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD).
June has held a raft of influential positions including Deputy Director of the Kimberley Land Council, Chair of the Kimberley Language Resource Centre and the Kimberley Interpreting Service and Chief Investigator with WA's Liliwan Project addressing FASC.
She was appointed to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (1990) and was a winner of the 100 Women of Influence in 2013 in the Social Entreprise and Not for Profit category. In 2015, June received the Menzies School of Health Research Medallion for her work with FASD.
June has a Bachelor's Degree in Business from the University of Notre Dame, Broome and is currently writing her Phd. June is co-founder of the Yiramalay Wesley Studio School and is a Community member of the Fitzroy Valley Futures Governing Committee. In February 2017, she was awarded an honorary doctorate from Edith Cowan University.
June began her five year term as Australia'a Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner on 3 April, 2017.

Anne Arnold, Chair Heritage Council of Western Australia
Anne Arnold was appointed as the Chair of the Heritage Council of Western Australia in February 2016, following more than eight years as a highly valued member of the Council.
Anne is the former Chief Executive of the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia. She has been involved in property, planning, real estate and housing throughout her career. She is currently also a member of the Board of Landgate and a Director of Southern Cross Care.
Anne has had an ongoing interest in heritage and its impact on property owners throughout her career in property. This includes working with owners about the benefits of heritage listing and assisting them to optimise the commercial viability of any development of their properties.

Peter Dans, A/Deputy Director General, Parks & Wildlife, Department of Biodiverity, Conservation and Attractions
Since the creation of the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions on 1 July 2017, Peter Dans has been Acting Deputy Director General, Parks and Wildlife Service. Prior to that Peter was the Director Regional and Fire Management Services within the WA Department of Parks and Widlife, a position he has held since August 2008.
Peter has worked for Parks and Wildlife and its predecessors the Department of Environment and Conservation and Conservation and Land Management since 1989 in roles spanning marine and terrestrial operational management, policy development and planning as well as senior policy roles in the Office of the Director General and the Office of the Minister for Environment.
Peter holds a Bachelor of Science degree from The University of Western Australia and Master of Business Administration degree from Edith Cowan University.

Marion Fulker, Chair Conservation and Parks CommissionMarion accepted the position in May 2016, having notable experience in senior executive and board roles. Curently Marion is also the CEO of the Committee of Perth, and an Adjunct Senior Research Fellow at The University of Western Australia. Previously, Marion has been the Executive Director of the Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA) WA Division, the Chair of the Heritage Council of Western Australia and the Director of Rugby WA. Marion's education includes an MBA from Curtin Graduate School of Business. In 2015 Marion was recognised as one of Australia's 100 Women of influence, in 2016 was the winner of a WA Telstra Businesswoman of the Year Award and has recently been named as a finalist in the 2017 Western Australian of the Year Awards. Her opinions on Perth's future are regularly sought by Government, industry and the media.

Professor Lyn Beazley, AO FTSEAfter graduating from Oxford and Edinburgh Universities, Professor Lyn Beazley built an internationally renowned research team in Neuroscience that focussed on recovery from brain damage, much of her investigations undertaken at The University of Western Australia. Currently Lyn is the Sir Walter Murdoch Professor of Science at Murdoch University. As Chief Scientist of Western Australia from 2006 to 2013, Lyn advised the Western Australian Government on science, innovation and technology as well as fulfilling the role of science ambassador locally, nationally and internationally. In 2009, Lyn was awarded Officer of the Order of Australia and was honoured to be inducted into the inaugural WA Women's Hall of Fame. Lyn was amazed and delighted to be named the WA Australian of the Year for 2015 and is honoured to be ban Ambassador of the WA Parks Foundation.

Jeff King, Chairman Rottnest Foundation Inc.Jeff was educated at Wesley College South Perth, where he was School Captain, which lead into him becoming a business proprietor from 1975. Through owning his own businesses, Jeff has accomplished skills in organisational management and sales administration. Jeff ran a tennis coaching business from 1975 to 1986, overlapping with running his wholesale sporting goods and promotional company, KC Sports from 1981 to the present day. In additional to this, he led the Hopman Cup Ball Kid Program for 24 years from 1988-2012. Needless to say, sport and in particular tennis, is a passion of his, which has led him to serve time as a lecturer for the National Tennis Coaches Accreditation Course. He was President of Tennis Professional Association of WA, of which he remains a life member. Jeff has been a frequent visitor to Rottnest Island all his life, as a toddler with his parents, as a parent with his children and now with his family including grandchildren. He is a keen golfer and has participated in the annual Rottnest Cup for over 30 years. Jeff has been Chairman of the Rottnest Foundation since 2009.

Rosalie Small, Grants & Sponsorship Coordinator, Rottnest Foundation Inc.Rosalie acquired a university degree in Tourism, majoring in Tourism Management in 2005. Between 2006-2010 she worked in the hospitality industry and travelled through Europe, residing in London for a while. Between October 2010 and September 2013, Rosalie worked within the Rottnest Island Authority as a Projects & Administration Officer where she developed her abilities in grant writing and acquittal and fine-tuned her project management, organisational and office administration skills. Since September 2013, Rosalie has been seconded from the Rottnest Island Authority to work within the Rottnest Foundation in the capacity of Grants & Sponsorship Coordinator to assist the Foundation in raising money for environmental and heritage projects that 'Conserve the Essence of Rottnest'.